Get recipes for,, and. My first official kitchen chore, at the ripe age of 6, was to help Mom with the dal. It is one of the first dishes I learned to cook from her, and I still consider her the ultimate dal expert.

Dal is sort of an umbrella term under which my family (and, I bet, most Indians) lump pulses and legumes such as lentils, beans and dried peas. My mother measured the dal by the fistful — one fistful per person — and placed it in a large stainless-steel bowl called a parat (you can use any large bowl ). My job was to pick out the debris: the stones, the sticks and whatever else did not belong in there. Then I had to place the dal in the chaalni (a kind of sieve; you can use any fine mesh sieve) and rinse it several times. If it was any other dal than moong dal (a small, split yellow mung bean, possibly one of the most popular dals in northern India) or masoor dal (pink lentils), I had to put it back in the clean bowl, add water and leave it on the counter to soak and soften for the night. The next day, Mom would drain out the water and then cook the dal.

Draining the water was key, Mom would always tell me, as this would make the dal easier to digest. There are countless ways to prepare the many dals in Indian cuisine, and it would take an entire book to list them all. However, my mother taught me some techniques that can be applied to many dals. For dals with quick cooking times, such as moong dal and masoor dal, Mom places the dal in a deep pot, adds water to cover, seasons with a bit of turmeric and then brings it to a boil. She skims off any scum that forms on top of the boiling dal. She then reduces the heat to medium and allows the dal to simmer until it is soft and mushy.

Just before serving, she garnishes it with a of hot oil seasoned with spices, ginger, garlic and lastly salt. June 16, 2010 My mother's dals always have a sprinkling of homemade garam masala (ground warm spices) and freshly chopped cilantro. Chef Maneet Chauhan, a judge on the popular TV show Chopped, once told me that to her, dal was like a blank canvas: You can use any flavoring to make it more interesting. She adds ingredients such as mango, mint, beet or other seasonal items to add an unusual delicious dimension to the same old dal.

Another way to make these two quick-cooking dals: Heat oil in a deep pan and add cumin seeds. When the cumin begins to sputter, add finely chopped garlic, ginger, onions and a bit of turmeric. Cook for a few minutes, until the onions soften. Add the dal and water.

Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to medium and simmer until the dal is cooked. Just before serving, heat some ghee (clarified butter), butter or oil and add a bit of minced garlic. Once the garlic sizzles, pour over the dal and serve.

To use the dal in a salad or a dry preparation, Mom taught me to make the dal 'bloom' in the water. She adds the dal, usually skinless split urad dal (black gram, a very popular legume in Indian cooking that is actually white when skinless) to boiling water and allows it to boil for a few minutes until the dal is just cooked (think al dente). She then removes it from heat, pours out the water and uses it in a warm dal salad or lets it cool for a cold dal chaat, tossing the dal with chopped onions, tomatoes, cilantro and lemon juice, and seasoning it with salt, ground toasted cumin and chaat masala, a salty-spicy blend (and one the few blends she would ever buy premade).

Dals that need longer cooking time, such as the whole urad dal (used in the well-known dal makhani, with tomatoes and cream ), are cooked plain in the pressure cooker. If you don't have a pressure cooker, you can still make this by cooking the urad dal on medium heat for several hours. Once the dal is soft, the seasoning begins.

One recipe states that 'The macaroni, (which should be 'tender but perfectly firm, no part being allowed to melt, and the form entirely preserved' – lest one be tempted to cook it for so long it actually disintegrated) is then topped with more cheese, pepper and breadcrumbs, before receiving a final dose of melted butter for. Lose weight your way with these easy healthy recipe eCookbooks from Simple Nourished Living. We think cooking should be fun, not complicated. And that you should be able to get healthy, great-tasting meals on the table with easy-to-find everyday ingredients. Be sure to check back regularly as we have several new.

Mom adds the cooked dal to a base of cooked onions, tomatoes and ginger and further cooks it until the flavors blend. (While some people say this particular lentil does not need to be soaked, I find that soaking does speed up cooking.) One of my favorite childhood chores was to clean the skinless split urad dal. This meant that there would be fried vadas in the house, and they were my favorite.

The dal was soaked overnight, and the next morning Mom ground it into a batter along with ginger and cilantro. She then deep-fried dollops of the batter to create these little dumplings that were delicious with chutney or bathed in a sauce of yogurt and garnished with tamarind chutney. Dals provide a great source of protein and don't have any fat other than what we add for garnish.

In our house, for generations, the whistle of the pressure cooker always signals that a comforting dal dish will be for dinner. Reem Rizvi for NPR Makes 4 servings 1 cup yellow moong dal (split yellow mung bean)* 4 cups water 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric* 4 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 teaspoon cumin seeds 1 small red onion, peeled and minced 1 teaspoon grated ginger 1 green serrano chili (or jalapeno), seeded and minced 1 small tomato, finely chopped Salt to taste 1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro (optional) Pick through the dal and remove any debris.

Rinse the dal thoroughly under running water in a fine-mesh sieve. Drain thoroughly. In a deep saucepan, bring water, turmeric and 1 tablespoon of oil to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered, 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until dal is very soft. If the water starts to dry up, add another 1/2 cup water. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a medium skillet, heat the remaining 3 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Add cumin seeds and when they begin to sizzle, add onion. Saute for 7 to 8 minutes, until onions are well browned.

Add ginger, chilies and tomato. Cook, stirring occasionally, for another 8 minutes or until tomato is soft. Add salt to taste and cilantro and mix well. Add onion mixture to the dal and mix well. Reheat the dal gently and serve hot. *Available at Indian grocery stores. Variations A simple moong dal can be dressed up by changing Connecticut-based chef Prasad Chirnomula shared some of his tadka ideas.

'Ghee is ideal for a tadka but can be substituted with your choice of oil — although with quite a bit of taste sacrifice,' he said. He provided four different ways to change the profile of the basic moong dal. His mother's tadka is the first one. Basic method: Heat the ghee or oil.

Add the other ingredients and give them a few seconds to heat up/sizzle. Pour the tadka over the cooked dal. Variation 1 Ghee 1 or 2 whole dried red chilies* 1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed 4 or 5 * 1/2 teaspoon chana dal (split Bengal gram)* (note the small quantity of lentils used here; they remain crisp when fried) 1 teaspoon white, or skinless, split urad dal (black gram, a type of legume) * 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds* Variation 2 Start with tadka in variation 1 and add a touch of asafetida and 1/2 red onion, chopped. Variation 3 Ghee 1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed 1 green serrano chili, finely chopped 4 or 5 curry leaves* 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric* Variation 4 Ghee 1 teaspoon panch phoran (mix of cumin, mustard, fennel, fenugreek and onion seeds)* *Available at Indian grocery stores. Reem Rizvi for NPR 1 cup skinless split urad dal (black gram)* 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds (optional)* 4 cups hot water 1 piece fresh ginger (1 inch), peeled and coarsely chopped 2 green serrano chilies, coarsely chopped Salt Vegetable oil, for deep frying Pick through the dal and remove any debris.

Rinse the dal thoroughly under running water in a fine-mesh sieve. Drain thoroughly. Combine the dal and fenugreek seeds, if using, with the hot water in a medium bowl. Cover and let soak for 2 hours. Drain the dal and fenugreek seeds and combine in a food processor with the ginger, chilies and salt to taste.

Process to a smooth batter. You may add up to 2 tablespoons water if needed. Transfer to a bowl. Heat several inches of vegetable oil in a deep heavy saucepan or deep fryer to 375 degrees. Carefully drop the batter, a couple of tablespoons at a time, into the oil. Make sure you do not overcrowd the pan.

Fry the balls until golden brown all over, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Let the oil return to temperature between batches. Continue until all the dal is used. *Available at Indian grocery stores. Reem Rizvi for NPR 1 cup skinless split urad dal (black gram)* 3 cups water 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric* 3 pieces ginger, about 1 inch each, peeled and cut into thin strips 1/4 cup vegetable oil Pinch asafetida* 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds 1 small red onion, peeled and chopped 2 or 3 green Thai or serrano chilies, chopped 2 small tomatoes, chopped 1 teaspoon red chili powder, or to taste 3/4 teaspoon 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves, plus more for garnish 4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice Pick through the dal and remove any debris. Rinse the dal thoroughly under running water.

Drain the dal and transfer to a medium bowl. Add the water and soak for 1 hour. Place a medium nonstick saucepan on high heat. Add the dal and soaking water, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, the turmeric and half the ginger. Bring to a boil on high heat. Reduce to low heat, cover and cook for 10 minutes, or until dal is soft but still separate.

Drain in a fine-mesh sieve and set aside. Place a medium nonstick frying pan on medium-high heat and add the vegetable oil. When small bubbles appear at the bottom of the pan, reduce the heat to medium and add asafetida and cumin seeds. Once the seeds begin to change color, add onion and saute 3 to 4 minutes, until lightly browned. A Terceira Onda Alvin Toffler Pdf Download. Add the remaining ginger, the chilies and tomatoes and cook 2 minutes more. Add chili powder and cook until oil separates. Add the drained dal and mix.

Add remaining salt, garam masala, cilantro and lemon juice and mix again. Cook 2 minutes more to blend the flavors. Transfer dal into a serving bowl and serve immediately. Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro.

*Available at Indian grocery stores. Courtesy of Chef K.N. Vinod 1 cup whole urad dal (black gram)* 2 tablespoons dried red kidney beans 6 cups water 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter 1 teaspoon vegetable oil 1 teaspoon grated ginger 1 teaspoon minced garlic 1 cup diced tomatoes (1 large tomato) 1 teaspoon red chili powder* 1 teaspoon homemade or store-bought garam masala Salt to taste 1/4 cup heavy cream, plus more for garnish Chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish 1 slice peeled ginger, cut into thin sticks, for garnish Pick through the dal and kidney beans and remove any debris. Rinse thoroughly under running water in a fine-mesh sieve.

Soak dal and beans overnight in enough water to cover. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine 6 cups of water, dal and kidney beans and mix well. Bring to a boil. Cook on medium heat, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for about 1 hour. Check to see if dal are soft and beginning to split. If not, continue cooking. If dal starts to dry out, add up to 1 cup of water.

Remove from the heat, transfer to a serving bowl and keep warm. In a medium pan, melt the butter with the oil. Add the ginger and garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and cook about 7 minutes, until the oil begins to separate at the sides. The tomatoes may splatter, so use a splatter guard or partially cover the mixture as it cooks.

Add the chili powder, garam masala and salt to taste and mix well. Remove from heat and pour over dal. Just prior to serving, stir in the heavy cream. Garnish with cilantro, a drizzle of cream and the ginger sticks. *Available at Indian grocery stores.

NPR YouTube My memories of eating khichuri go back to the monsoon seasons of my childhood, when billowy thunder clouds rolled in and soaked us and the parched earth with relentless rains. The monsoons are beloved across India – they are a much-awaited reprieve from several months of unbearable heat. But it can get chilly and damp sometimes – the kind of weather when you crave something warm and filling, like khichuri. To make this flavorful, mushy, one-pot dish, my mother would dry roast moong dal (yellow split mung beans), then throw it in a pressure cooker, with some rice, a couple of veggies and some spices. Lo and behold, 15-20 minutes later, we had hot, steaming khichuri. Ma would serve it with a dollop of ghee (clarified butter) on top, and some spicy mango pickle and sweet potato fries (my favorite!) on the side. Pokemon Random Gba Download. Sometimes, my father would make deem bhaja (a simple omelet with onions and green chilies) to go with the meal.

And occasionally, if we were lucky, there would be a hot, crispy piece of fried fish. I am originally from the state of West Bengal in eastern India, where khichuri is a staple during the monsoons. My friends from Bangladesh (just across the border from my home state), who speak the same language (Bengali), tell me they, too, associate this beloved dish with the monsoons.

But across South Asia, khichri (or khichdi), as it's more commonly known, is a beloved comfort food for all seasons. It is 'pretty close to [being] a universal dish' on the subcontinent, says Colleen Taylor Sen, author of several books on Indian food culture and history. That became obvious to me recently when I asked people on my Facebook page to share their khichri story. I got a flood of responses.

'It's a regular on my menu, usually [at] dinner time,' wrote Anjana Gupta, a childhood friend who lives in the southern city of Mysore, where we grew up. She makes a gingery khichri with moong dal and rice, and she likes eating it with yogurt and pickles.

A simpler form of the dish is a favorite in the western state of Gujarat, especially among the elderly, wrote Ananya Bhattacharya, an Indian journalist currently based in Washington, D.C. Called sukhpawani, which literally means something that brings comfort and pleasure, the dish she described is made by boiling together rice, split mung bean, turmeric and salt till the consistency is porridge-like. Bhattacharya's grandfather ate this dish every day for dinner. 'He ate this with a lot of ghee,' she said.

'He'd also eat this with milk and bhurra (very fine sugar).' In northern India, a bland version of khichri – no veggies, no fragrant spices – is comfort food for many. 'In my family, it is associated with sickness or upset stomach or when you just want to eat something light,' my friend Niraj Kumar wrote from New York. Down south in the state of Karnataka, a tangy, spicier version called bisi bele bath (which translates to hot lentil rice) is a popular dish, even at parties and celebrations. And in the neighboring states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, a rice and lentil dish called is a staple during Ramadan.

'There's an incredible variety of khichri,' says Sen, who owns scores of regional Indian cook books. 'And almost all of them have recipes for khichri,' she says. The different versions vary in consistency – some are dry, while others are watery or porridge-like, she says. There are savory and sweet khichris. While the vegetarian versions are more common, there are khichris with meat, too. For example, a dish called khichra has five different kinds of lentils, rice and lamb, says Sen.

Most khichris, however, have two common ingredients – rice and lentils. 'Rice and lentils have been a part of Indian cuisine since time immemorial,' says Sen. Archaeological records suggest people on the subcontinent were eating rice and legumes (chick pea, peas, pigeon peas and red lentils) as far back as 1200 B.C., she says. The Indian philosopher and statesman Chanukya (also called Kautilya), from 300 B.C., wrote that the balanced meal for a gentleman should consist of one prastha (about 1.4 pounds) of rice, quarter prastha of lentils, 1/62 prastha of salt, and 1/16 prastha of ghee or oil.

'That's kind of a khichri, isn't it?' In 14 th century A.D., the renowned Moroccan explorer Ibn Battuta wrote about people in South Asia – especially the poor – eating khichri made with rice, mung bean and butter. The power of khichri is its adaptability to different tastes and needs. 'It's probably the most adaptable dish [on the subcontinent],' says Sen.

'It can be a very simple dish that poor people eat. Or it can be very elaborate.' Elaborate enough to be fit for kings, or in this case, emperors. A recipe from the court of Akbar, the 16th century Mughal emperor, calls for equal parts of lentils, rice and ghee, says Sen.

A sweet khichri recipe she found in a book on the famously elaborate cuisine from the kingdom of Awadh, in northern India, included sugar, khoya (dry, thickened milk), cardamom, cinnamon, clove and saffron – one of the most expensive spices. Like all good ideas, khichri, too, seems to have spread to other parts of the world.

The British liked it so much that they took it back home and created their own version – kedgeree, the popular breakfast dish made with rice, boiled egg and haddock. 'The Indian khichri becomes the Anglo-Indian kedgeree. In the 17 th century,' says Clifford Wright, an American food writer and author of several cookbooks. (Lentils were omitted as the British were known to dislike them.) 'Then it jumps across the Atlantic to New England, where it's made with rice, curry powder, and fresh cod,' he says.

Khichri is also thought to be the ancestor of Egypt's national dish, koshary, which is made with rice, lentils and macaroni. 'There's no doubt that the Egyptian koshary's ancestor is in fact the Indian khichri,' says Wright. The name and the ingredients are similar, he says. And khichri 'is similar to mujaddara (another Middle Eastern comfort dish with rice and lentils), which can be traced back to the 10th century.' Although it's likely that koshary got its macaroni much later, from the Italians, he adds. Until I began researching this piece, my world of khichri had been small, with only three variations – my mother's khichuri, another version of it called bhog-er khichuri that is served at religious festivals in my home state, and my favorite, bisi bele baath, from southern India. Little did I know that a dish so simple had such a rich history, with its journey beginning far back in time and going on to traverse distant parts of the globe.

This story tells me of a past that was more globalized than we realize. And it leaves me hungry for a whole new world of khichris.

A Taste Of 'Khichuri' Almost all the Bengali dishes I cook these days are dishes my mother taught me over the phone after I moved to the United States. She was an exquisite cook. But I never had the chance to ask her for her khichuri recipe. Ma passed away before I decided to try making this beloved monsoon dish. So the recipe below is one I cobbled together and improvised after poring over recipes from friends, food blogs and cooking shows on YouTube.

Ingredients: ½ cup white rice (I use Basmati. But any other non-sticky white rice or even brown rice should work.) ½ cup (split yellow mung bean) Half of a small cauliflower, cut into about 10 florets (not so small that they will melt) 2 or 3 small potatoes, peeled and cut in half, or 1 medium potato cut into 4-6 pieces. (Although potatoes are traditionally used, I rarely use them.) 1 big carrot cut into inch-long pieces or 6-8 baby carrots, each sliced lengthwise. (Traditionalists may disapprove, but I like adding carrots to my khichuri. They make it colorful and healthier.) 1/3 cup of frozen peas 1 bay leaf 2 green cardamom 2-3 cloves 1 thin sticks of cinnamon 1 or 2 dry red chili (I often use green chili instead) ½ teaspoon cumin seeds 1 tablespoon grated ginger Ghee (clarified butter) Turmeric and salt as needed. Dry roast the moong dal on medium flame till it starts to brown and you can smell its nutty aroma.

(Other khichri recipes use a range of lentils that don't involve this step.) Stop when about half the beans have become light brown in color, then set aside in a bowl with 2 cups of warm water in it. Into a pan add a tablespoon of ghee (I sometimes use mustard oil or vegetable oil instead) and heat on high or medium till the ghee looks hot. Throw in the bay leaf. As it starts to brown, lower the flame to medium and add the cardamom pods, clove and cinnamon.

Stir with a spoon. Then add the cumin seeds and the chilies.

Once the cumin seeds start to sputter, throw in the grated ginger, and stir. Now add the potato, carrots and cauliflower. Sprinkle some turmeric till veggies turn light yellow. Stir fry for a few minutes. At this stage, add the dal with the water and salt to taste.

Cover the pot and cook till water starts to boil. Cook for 4 more minutes so that the dal, which takes longer to cook, starts to soften. At this point, you can transfer everything to a pressure cooker, add the frozen peas, rice and one more cup of water and cook it using the rice setting. (If you're using a stove top pressure cooker, wait for two whistles before you switch off of the stove.) Or if not using a pressure cooker, add the rice and two more cups of water to the pot once the dal starts to soften. Cook with a lid on medium or low with occasional stirring to make sure rice and mung beans don't stick to the bottom of the pan. Frozen peas will cook quickly, so I add them 5-10 minutes after I've added the rice.

Add more water along the way if it starts to look too dry. Consistency should be like that of a thick porridge, although some people like it drier. Cook till rice, dal and vegetables look cooked, but not too mushy. Serve with a teaspoon of ghee on top, mango or lime pickle on the side. This goes very well with papad or papadum, which are flat, round, tortilla shaped crispy snacks that are usually deep fried or roasted over the fire. Other foods that go well with khichuri: Fried eggplant or fried fish.